Whiskey Cocktails with Shaker & Spoon

Guys, pregnancy kinda sucks. I've been nauseous, exhausted, and uncomfortable. I had a migraine headache that lasted three straight weeks. I haven't wanted to eat anything but bagels and cereal since January. But I want to take a minute to focus on the real martyr here: my poor husband. Because I've been so sick that he has had to make. his. own. cocktails. (Gasp!)

I'm kidding, of course - he's not really suffering, and in fact, he even offered to give up alcohol with me for the duration of the pregnancy. (I told him he didn't have to, and instead encouraged him to drink more so that he would get hungover and feel as sick as me. It's a different sort of solidarity.) But as I certainly haven't been making cocktails for myself the last three months and really haven't felt like making any for him, he has been left to fend for himself. Which usually means nothing more elaborate than a Scotch or bourbon on the rocks. The man can sous vide a steak like nobody's business, but he's a bit helpless with a shaker.

Enter Shaker & Spoon! When they offered to send me one of their cocktail kits, at first I was disappointed that I would have to turn them down. But then I realized who could really use an easy, pre-packaged craft cocktail complete with instructions: my husband. I asked if they'd be willing to come to his rescue and they came through with their Kiss Me, I'm Whiskey box.

I've heard about Shaker & Spoon for a while, but I've never tried a subscription, mostly because I love making my own ingredients at home already. But I have to admit, it's a really fun thing to get in the mail! I couldn't believe how much they crammed into the box, and how many fresh ingredients were included. The Kiss Me, I'm Whiskey box came with 1 orange, 4 lemons, 4 syrups, three different garnishes (dried peppers, fresh sage, and dried orange wheels, complete with tiny clothespins), and two adorable little bottles of bitters. The only negative thing I could say is that the sage was starting to turn a little brown; everything else looked wonderful.

Of the three cocktails included in the box, my husband opted first for the Spice of Life, a mixture of Irish Whiskey, sour mix, chipotle-maple syrup, and orange bitters. (I thought he picked it for the spiciness, but he later confessed that it looked the easiest.) The recipe comes from Elle Maeyaert of The Local in Minneapolis. The sour mix is particularly special, her own recipe made from a combination of three different citrus juices and brown sugar. I was surprised by the combination of chipotle and whiskey and looking forward to sneaking a sip of the finished product.

I'm proud to say that the hubs whipped up this cocktail like a master mixologist. The only advice I gave him was to add more ice when he went to stir it. The kit really made it easy, and allowed him to craft a much higher quality cocktail than he ever would have made on his own. I mean, chipotle maple syrup is a tad advanced even for me.

The Spice of Life is an incredibly rich and flavorful cocktail. The chipotle maple syrup is an incredible ingredient, and really plays a starring role in the drink. I might have to steal some for other recipes! From my two little sips, I'd say my worries about spice and whiskey playing well together were completely unfounded. My husband loved it and drank it right up. I have I feeling he'll be making another one quite soon.

Spice of Life

2 oz. Irish Whiskey (we used GrandTen South Boston Irish Whiskey)
1 oz. Elle's house sour*
1 oz. chipotle-maple syrup*
2 dashes orange bitters*

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a dried chili pepper.

*These ingredients were provided by Shaker & Spoon, but could probably be roughly replicated at home. (Or you can order a box of your own!) For the sour mix, I'd try dissolving 1 cup brown sugar in 1 cup water and then adding 2 cups of citrus juice (maybe 3/4 cup lemon, 3/4 lime, and 1/2 cup orange). For the chipotle-maple syrup, I'd try bringing equal parts maple syrup and water to a simmer, adding several slices dried or fresh chipotle peppers, and letting the whole thing infuse until it's as spicy as you like it.

Next he reached for the Mighty Craic Cobbler, a cocktail created not far from us at Ruka in Boston. We've actually been wanting to go to Ruka for a while; it was opened by the folks behind Lolita and Yvonne's, two of our favorite spots. But the menu is quite heavy on raw fish, so it's going to have to wait until October at least. Ruka bartender Will Thompson created this simple but delicious orange and apricot flavored cobbler.

Since this is a cobbler, the first step was to crush a bunch of ice in our Lewis bag. Then the oranges and syrup are muddled together in the bottom of a shaker. The orange that came in the box was very fresh! The orange-apricot syrup tasted really incredible; it's another ingredient I'd like to steal for other drinks. Next you add some whiskey, shake everything up, and strain it over your freshly-crushed ice. My husband was working like an old pro by now, and whipped this one right up. It was a simple, spirit-forward drink that really let the whiskey shine. Of the two, he preferred the Spice of Life, but he definitely enjoyed them both.

Mighty Craic Cobbler

2 oz. Irish Whiskey (we used GrandTen South Boston Irish Whiskey)

2 orange slices, 1/4 inch thick

1/2 oz. spiced orange-apricot syrup*

Combine the orange wheels and syrup in the bottom of a shaker and muddle gently (muddling too hard or too long will express the bitterness in the orange rinds). Add the whiskey and fill the shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a double rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel.

*I'm not entirely sure how best to replicate this excellent syrup. The ingredients listed are water, apricots, demerara sugar, orange zest, allspice, cloves, and citric acid. I would perhaps simmer all of those ingredients together, maybe mashing up the apricots a bit, and then strain the resulting syrup. Do let me know if any of you decide to experiment.

All in all, we loved the Shaker & Spoon box. There's still one more cocktail in there to try, and plenty of everything left to make more of these two. I still don't think I'll be a regular subscriber myself, but I could definitely see a subscription becoming a go-to gift for friends and family. The other thing these boxes would be great for is a little cocktail party - there's enough in the box to make four of each of the three cocktails, so it would be really fun to have another couple over for dinner and work our way through the recipes. Thanks to Shaker & Spoon for giving us the chance to try it out! My husband is making another Spice of Life as I write this - I think he'll be all set for cocktails for a few days. :-)

Mixology Monday: Wake the Dead

This is a sad post to write - my contribution to the very last Mixology Monday. As Fred writes in his announcement post, participation has been flagging in recent months, and the MxMo website locking him out seemed to be a sign that it was time to end the online cocktail party's 11-year run. I'm really glad I got to participate in so many of these events and even host one last month. It's been fun, inspiring, and a great way to connect with other cocktail nerds.

And so, fittingly, the theme for the final Mixology Monday is Irish Wake. Fred has encouraged us to make a cocktail using Irish Whiskey and/or to talk about a time in our lives where drinks helped with the grieving process. I'm quite lucky to have had few friends or family members to grieve in my adult life, so I don't really have a story to share. But I will happily pull out a bottle of Irish Whiskey and help give Mixology Monday a proper sendoff.

I don't use Irish Whiskey much, reaching instead for rye, bourbon, or Scotch. The only bottle I have is GrandTen's South Boston Irish Whiskey, which is really lovely but tends to go overlooked in my bar. I mostly pull it out when recipes specifically call for Irish Whiskey, such as in the Cooper Union or a classic Irish Coffee, and I've never used it in a recipe of my own.

That Irish Coffee was still fresh in my mind when I mixed up this simple Irish Whiskey cocktail. Some coffee liqueur, a dash of Allspice Dram, and a bit of Demerara syrup made for a spirit-forward tribute to the winter staple. It's rich and sweet and strong, with enough coffee in it to - maybe - wake the dead.

I recommend reaching for a coffee liqueur that's not very sweet for this recipe - two I definitely recommend but that might be tough to find in most places are Durham Distillery's Damn Fine Coffee Liqueur and Seymour's Coffee Liqueur from Boston Harbor Distillery. I haven't tried St. George's Nola Coffee Liqueur, but since everything they make is top-notch, I bet it would be quite good as well. If you must use Kahlua or something similarly sweet (nothing against Kahlua, I actually quite like it), reduce the Demerara syrup accordingly.

So here's to 116 months of Mixology Monday. Fred, thanks for keeping the party going so long.

Wake the Dead

2 oz. Irish Whiskey
1 oz. coffee liqueur (Damn Fine Coffee Liqueur)
1/4 oz. Allspice Dram
1/2 oz. Demerara syrup*

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a Nick & Nora glass and garnish with star anise. Raise a toast to Mixology Monday - may it rest in peace.

*For Demerara syrup, combine 2 parts Demerara sugar with 1 part water in a saucepan and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Let cool before using.

Cooper Union

I'm officially a fan of cocktails that include a bit of smoky, peaty Scotch. I've enjoyed trying different recipes that use it, from the popular Penicillin to the more obscure Avery's Arrack-Ari. I even took a stab at using some in my own recipe with the Blood and Smoke.

It was the Scotch rinse - along with the inclusion of St. Germain, which I have not been using nearly enough lately - that sold me on the Cooper Union. And it's just as good as I imagined. I really like the play of the smoky Scotch with the sweet and floral St. Germain. The orange bitters and twist of lemon add a perfect hint of citrus. This was one that we drank several nights in a row after discovering it. It's the perfect cocktail to sip on in the evening after a long day.

I probably know less about Irish whiskey than any other sort (except maybe Japanese), and I didn't have a bottle in my bar until recently. I went ahead and bought GrandTen Distilling's South Boston Irish Whiskey, which is bottled quite close to where I live. It's quite affordable and very tasty. I thought it worked well in the Cooper Union. I'd love recommendations for other go-to Irish whiskeys for cocktails.

Cooper Union

2 oz. Irish whiskey
1/2 oz. St. Germain
1 dash orange bitters
Laphroig rinse (I used Lagavulin)

Pour a small amount of the Scotch into a rocks glass and turn the glass to coat the edges. Combine whiskey, St. Germain, and bitters in a mixing glass. Stir with ice until chilled. Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Recipe from Wine Enthusiast.